The Andy Griffith Show Opie's Hobo Friend (1960–1968) watch online HD

One of the two reviewers for this episode clearly has it confused with the Season 4 episode Opie and His Merry Men, in which the boys playing Robin Hood encounter a bum living in the woods, who encourages them to steal from the rich and give to the poor--well, himself, at least.

Opie's Hobo Friend featured a pre-Jed Clampett Buddy Ebsen as an interesting man who is encountered by Andy and Opie on a fishing trip. As our heroes head off to fish, the stranger, Dave Browne, helps himself to their bag of sandwiches left in the squad car.

My favorite scene comes when Barney hauls in the same man accusing him of vagrancy and is astonished to hear both Andy and Opie converse with the man like he is an old friend. Andy lets the man go because he's done no harm.

Dave hangs around, doing some chores for Andy but starts influencing Opie in his lazy ways, such as telling him "Tomorrow...the most perfect day to start any job...tomorrow." When Opie wants to do his chores tomorrow, Andy threatens to paddle his tomorrow if he doesn't do the chores right away.

Andy goes to the shack where Dave is staying and tries to tell him that he wants him to stay away from being a bad influence on Opie. Dave insists that the boy should decide which of the two men has a better lifestyle. But as Andy leaves, telling him that he (Andy) has a tough job to try to get Opie back to thinking the right way about things, we see that Dave is thinking about what he heard.

So Dave comes up with a clever scheme of getting arrested for stealing Aunt Bee's purse, purposely so that Opie can see that he should not emulate Dave. Barney brings him in and leaves with Dave in a cell, but Andy has figured out that the purse was one Aunt Bee threw away and he starts to thank the man for helping him to set Opie straight, but Dave insists he "has a train to catch." This was another heartwarming story, a mostly sympathetic look at a hobo, but I cannot give it too high a score because so much of it wasn't that funny.

The Andy Griffith episodes, especially the first two seasons (1960-62), are wonderful tales (fables, in fact!) about right and wrong. Don Knotts and the rest of the supporting cast offer great comic counterpoint.

This episode aired in 1961, and is Buddy Ebsen's (Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies) only appearance as a guest star on the Griffith show.

Ebsen is perfect as a homespun visitor to Mayberry who influences young Opie in less than desirable ways. The plot has elements of the story in the 1993 film "A Bronx Tale," in which a boy is influenced by two mentors - his father and a another man of questionable morals.

The story in this episode is, of course, quickly resolved with a happy ending and right prevails. I would recommend it highly to anyone with young children - the family should watch it together!

The show begins with Opie and his young friends meeting and befriending a hobo (Buddy Ebsen). While he seems like a nice guy, the guy manipulates the kids into believing he is a victim of society and tells them about Robin Hood--hoping that the kids will follow this example and bring food from 'the rich' and give to 'the poor' (him). When Andy gets wind of this, he has to explain life to the boys as well as chase the bum out of his jurisdiction.

This show has a lot of nice lessons about life and the value of hard work--values that have somehow fallen out of favor. Nowadays, due to political correct language, we no longer have hobos but the global term 'the homeless'. Well, I worked with these folks for several years as a social worker and I can see a very clear difference between the two groups and am thrilled "The Andy Griffith Show" tackled this subject. Hobos, while not politically correct, are people who enjoy the carefree life of living on the road. They don't like to keep roots and often bounce from odd job to odd job or beg to make a living. Hard as it is to believe, many hobos like this life and I can respect that...though I don't think they need any sort of public assistance nor police harassment unless they break any laws. This is a life choice for most of them--and they are quite comfortable that way. The homeless, on the other hand, have no home due to circumstances--such as illness, loss of job or home (such as after a fire)--not at all to be confused as hobos.

Sorry to stand up on my soapbox, but I surely thought this was a well-written and interesting show--one that teaches some decent lessons.

It's easy to see why this is one of TAGS fans' favorite episodes. It has all the ingredients that produce a classic story in the series: plenty of comedy, with Barney determined to round up what he is convinced is a Chicago gang on the lam; a life lesson in learning how to tell good from bad; Andy making sure that Opie learns that lesson; and Earl Hagen's evocative theme played on harmonica that captures the slowed-down time and seeming innocence of small-town America just when the post-war 50s was giving way to the New Frontier of the 60s. And it does all this without being preachy or overly sentimental the way some sitcoms can be at times (sorry, MASH fans). Buddy Ebsen is dressed just a shade better here than he is when The Beverly Hillbillies starts its run the following year, and he makes ridin' the rails look almost respectable. In fact, one might be tempted to leaf through the Dept. of Labor's Occupational listings just to make sure hoboing isn't found under careers in the travel industry.

The final 5 minutes of this episode are monumentally powerful. When the truth comes out and Andy approaches David, he would not have any of it, just a smile and a train to catch. Beautiful writing, wickedly powerful.